Perfect Destruction
by Silent Scribe
Summary: My first chapter story! Sesshomaru reflects on the series of events that shaped his character. His mother, Inu no Taisho, and added characters are involved. Reviews welcome as always.
1. Exposition

Barely an audible shadow as he strolled alongside the pond, Sesshomaru was waiting out the night until Rin and Jaken would awaken replenished in the morning. 

He heard the air currents suddenly shift and dodged to the right.

_Hsst!_ went the shuriken as it whizzed past his ear.

"You there! Demon!" A monk stepped out from the brush and began drawing a fan of sutra scrolls from his robe. "You and any of your kind are to evacuate this area immediately!"

Sesshomaru did not believe in heeding the requests of humans, such was beneath him, and kept walking.

"You had your warning, vile yokai!" The monk flung his scrolls outward, towards the demon, and started to chant. He didn't get past the first syllable.

Sesshomaru's light-whip snaked back to his talons. "Insect," he muttered, leaving the monk's still form in the grass, shredded slips absorbing spilled blood, and continued astride the pond's edge.

_At least it was quick_, he thought. _They usually die the way they live – quickly._

Well of course the mortal died quickly, his killer was Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru literally meant Perfect Destruction. The demon flawlessly obliterated anything and anyone that happened to obstruct the path he tread. Naturally, in order to destroy perfectly one must feel nothing for that which he is to annihilate; emptiness, not empathy, was key.

One should reap for all there is worth. Since the world doesn't care what it hurls your way, you needn't worry about returning the favor. It was a lesson instilled early on in Sesshomaru.


	2. Namesake

"How many are there?"

"One."

"Only one?"

"There _were_ four."

"And what happened to the rest of the litter?"

"They're dead."

"B-but how…?"

"One stillbirth, the other two were taken by their sibling's jaws."

"Taken?!"

"I don't think he intended to do it, but that is the law of survival. He hasn't even opened his eyes yet, the child can't be blamed. Instinctively he has proved that he is the strongest. It was merciful that the others were spared a useless existence."

"Useless? How…ah…Where is he?"

"Right here."

"He bears your mark. Name him what you will."

"My son made a sensible decision with his fangs. He is a perfect killer. Sesshomaru."


	3. The Butterfly Effect

"Mama, where's Papa?" Sesshomaru was all of five years old (by daiyokai standards, of course), amber eyes glittering with hope and curiosity as he gazed up at his mother sitting on the courtyard porch. To him, she was the most beautiful demoness the world and he was proud to have her features; however, Sesshomaru couldn't help but wonder where his ever-absent father was.

"Where is he, Mama?" the child persisted.

Sesshomaru's mother stared down at her son for a long time before answering. "He's out attending to business."

"Oh." The explanation was too broad, the curiosity was not sated. "What kind of business?"

"The kind which involves the conquest of great lands and purging of lesser beings, such as humans. Someday you'll be capable of power akin, Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru?"

The little daiyokai hardly caught the tail end of his mother's lecture. A butterfly with wings the color of ripe summer oranges demanded immediate investigation.

Sesshomaru chased after it, gently picked the flower it landed on, and cried, "Look, Mama!"

As he proudly displayed his trophy, Sesshomaru felt a sudden rush of wind and gasped as a flurry of wings were strewn into the air before him.

"Pay attention when your mother speaks."

"But…that…" Sesshomaru's heart felt shredded like the butterfly. "It was pretty, Ma—"

"It was an insect. There are a million more where it came from." She flicked some of the creature's remaining juices off her talon. It dashed across her son's face. "You needn't concern yourself with such trivial beings."

"Trivial?"

"Weaklings, Sesshomaru. They do not survive for long, and it is the strong who are permitted to reap the benefits of life. I am the mate to the Western Lord because no one else could compete. I am strong. If you allow yourself to become distracted by the weak you shall join them."

Sesshomaru didn't quite grasp the full concept, but if obedience would please his mother he would see to it. He smiled and nodded up at her, not understanding what the skyward rolling eyes meant, promising he'd do what it took to be strong.

She side-stepped him, muttering something about childhood ignorance, while he figured wiping the dead bug's fluids off his face would be a good place to start.

Little things were a waste of time.


	4. Father's Visit

"Papa! Papa, you've come back!" Sesshomaru bounded up to greet his father.

Inu no Taisho knelt down to be on eye-level with his son.

The sparkling amber gaze, charming little smile – the Dog General couldn't accept that this child had been the assassin of his own litter. Yet, it was in the boy's name, right? Sesshomaru.

Inu no Taisho groaned inwardly. Why had I let her name him?

"Say, Papa?" Sesshomaru's voice drew his father back to the present.

"Where were you all this time?"

"Oh? I was out, ah, inspecting land."

"Oh, isn't land big?"

"Huh?" Where was Sesshomaru going with this? "Yes, I suppose there is a lot of land, but what's that --"

"So am I a waste of time?"

"What?!" Inu no Taisho couldn't understand his son's reasoning or why he felt a sudden guilty pang. "Who told you such nonsense?"

"No one, it's just I know I'm still little and I remember learning that little things are...trivial." Sesshomaru didn't whirl away in time for his father to miss his tears.

The Dog General was at a loss for words, so he picked up his child and said the first thing that came to mind, "Look, you'll be big and strong in no time. Don't worry. Just keep working at it."

"Really? You mean I could be just like you? Strong?" Sesshomaru's face brightened.

"Hn? Ah, yes, of course." Inu no Taisho almost rolled his eyes, but thought better of it and smiled instead. "I'm sure someday you'll surpass your dad!"

"How will I know?"

"Tch, you'll have to fight me for it!"

Suddenly Sesshomaru was swept up and attacked with a barrage of tickles. He had to at last surrender when it hurt to breathe.

Inu no Taisho smirked. "You won't last very long if you laugh every time your tummy's tickled."

Sesshomaru crawled to his feet, still giggling. "Then how am I supposed to distance myself?"

The Dog General sobered. "Well, you could begin by learning to harness your yoki. Watch."

A band of golden light crackled from Inu no Taisho's talons, deftly severing a tree branch.

Sesshomaru mouthed a silent wow.

"So there's that and your own special technique, but that'll come when you're older."

"Wow! Really? Can you teach me now?"

"Heh, I don't see why n—"

"My lord! My lord!"

At first, Sesshomaru hadn't known who'd spoken until he noticed the tiny flea that had sprung on to his father's nose.

"What's the trouble, Myoga?" Inu no Taisho quickly stood.

"Oh, my lord, it's terrible! The cat demons in the west are attacking the borders and they're pressing for domination over all other tribes!"

The Dog General started walking, but there was an abrupt tug on his sleeve.

"Papa, I thought you were going to stay and teach me." Sesshomaru's eyes glistened.

Inu no Taisho crouched down. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. This is business, Sesshomaru." With a parting pat on his son's head, he took to the skies.

Sesshomaru stared at the expanse of blue long after his father had left. He would have to work hard to become as powerful as Father so he could come along the business trips and not be left behind.


	5. Friends

_A/N: I'd better say this right now – I calculated that one century is about two years for a daiyokai based on that Sesshomaru's age is in the ballpark of 900 years and he's supposed to appear 19 (see InuYasha Profiles at your local bookseller). Technically, it's actually 48 years equals to one demon year, but I'll keep it simple. I later figured that InuYasha ages about 1 year per decade (he allegedly looks 15 – sounds 17 to me – is actually 200, was magically sealed for 50 years and I'll grant it that that doesn't age him). If anyone has a real demon-years to human ratio, I'd like to know. Anyway, if you're not too inundated with numbers, on with the show!_

--

It'd been about a century since Inu no Taisho had left to war and Sesshomaru's mother seemed to have lost interest in her son's martial development, as though it was too much effort to set aside time.

Sesshomaru was oblivious to his missed education and unwittingly groomed whatever ability he needed in the immediate.

On this spring day, he was honing his skills in tracking. The damped soil preserved his target's pungent odor – it was almost too easy. A rustle in the bushes was the final clue.

Sesshomaru's claw shot in and fished out his yelping prey. His hair was jet-black, eyes brown, and, with his simple attire, he could have passed for an eight-year-old peasant boy. Though, the pointed ears, outrageous incisors, and elongated claws killed the image and instead screamed rat-demon.

The disheveled yokai dusted off his head, eyeing his captor. "Aww, you an' your nose!"

"Live with it, Kai," Sesshomaru smirked. Then he ran his talons past Kai's neck. "Or not."

Kai shoved his best friend and they exploded into laughter.

Eventually, the rat-demon caught his breath first. "You're really getting better."

Sesshomaru modestly smiled. "Just lucky."

"No, I'm serious. Your sense of smell's amazing!"

"Ri-ight, and I'm sure Keiken's –"

"Kai!"

Both demons leapt their height at the outburst. The foliage parted and from it marched Keiken.

"_Ani-ue_, elder brother above," Kai quickly executed a bow. "What brings you –"

"Shut up, twerp. What're you hanging around dog-boy again for?"

"We were just –"

"Did I say you could talk?"

Sesshomaru decided to try his luck. "Keiken-kun, Kai and I were only playing a tracking game, it was nothing –"

"You think I'm stupid?"

Sesshomaru applauded himself for not mentioning if you couldn't master a temporary human guise by your fifth century you weren't exactly next in line for court scholar. Keiken still walked on rat haunches.

"So you think 'cause you're the Dog General's pup, you're better?"

Again Sesshomaru didn't point out the protruding rat's tail.

"Look, cur, I've had enough of your family's uppity-upness, and honestly I think you're gonna be the weak link in the chain."

"Is that a fact?" Sesshomaru feinted a swipe and Keiken gave ground.

The older rat-demon was still a far cry from a daiyokai's capability and the tiny portion of his brain that functioned knew it.

"Kai, we're goin' home." Keiken pivoted of rodent toe. He called over his shoulder, "An' stay away from that mutt if you know what's good fer ya."

When Keiken was out of range, Sesshomaru's knees buckled under him.

"Hey, Sesshomaru?" Kai inched closer to his friend. "Look, Keiken's just being a jerk like always. Ignore him. I know you, you could swat him in an instant."

"No, Kai. He's right. He's absolutely right, I am the weak link. I can't kill him, much less a fly."

Kai blinked. "That's stupid. You're a daiyokai."

"I _know_. But he's still your brother, and…"

"And I have fifty-seven more, plus forty-two _sisters_ – Uck!" Kai pulled a face, but Sesshomaru didn't notice.

The inu-yokai shuddered. "Also, to have taken a life…it makes me sick!"

Kai shifted uneasily. "Whatever. Is that all that's bothering you?"

"Well, yesterday Mother reminded me that I haven't discovered my personal talent yet and I'm already four hundred."

"That'll come along. So for all I can do is pull metal from the earth. See?" Kai demonstrated as he drew a needle of iron from the dirt.

Sesshomaru cracked a smile when Kai bent it into the shape of a crescent moon. He laughed as the rat placed it on his own head and strut around poorly imitating a tyrannical Sesshomaru.

Presently, the afternoon's mishaps were forgotten while warmer memories were forged.

--

_A/N: By the way, Kai and Keiken are completely my characters. _


	6. Dokkasou

He had to admit they hid themselves well this time. Sesshomaru could hardly scent any of the other yokai children or Kai. Operative word: hardly.

The dog-demon closed his eyes and sniffed rapidly. His nose whispered of something black-furred and beady-eyed in the tree above.

In a solid spring, he pounced on the branch.

Kai gave a startled cry. "He found me! Run!"

Suddenly, a cluster of yokai offspring flushed from their hiding places. Sesshomaru's hand swished through empty air as Kai slid off his branch to join the rest of the children on the forest floor.

Sesshomaru grinned. Prey was his favorite game because you still had to catch your target after you found him. He bolted after Kai.

"There's no escape, rat!"

"Save your dreaming for sleep!" Kai darted left and hurdled over a log. Even Sesshomaru, for all his superior pedigree, had trouble keeping up. His breath was coming in short gasps now.

In a last-ditch effort to catch his "prey", Sesshomaru flung out a claw. But instead of snagging on to his friend's haori collar as it should have, something horribly different happened – a spray of green acid spewed from his talons.

Kai whirled around; his windpipe dissolved before he could scream. The terror wracking his face was a mirror image of his companion's.

Sesshomaru gaped helplessly as Kai's neck completely disintegrated, as the poison ate away in both directions, and as he held his friend's mortified gaze a moment longer.

The other kids froze, until the silence was shattered by an imp's howl. "Wha-what did you do to Kai?!"

"It was an accident!" Sesshomaru scrambled for words. "I didn't know—I didn't mean…" Talons trailed through a glob of goop. Goop that was once his friend's head. His panicked stare grasped at his playmates, but found no solace.

Everyone backed away. Revulsion, shock, fear all scrawled across faces. This was why you didn't hang-out with daiyokai – ticking time-bombs – they didn't know their own terrifying strength.

Sesshomaru stood and they all leapt as though struck. "Wait," he pleaded. No one waited, no one wanted to be the next victim, and everyone ran.

Alone with Kai's corpse, grief pounded into Sesshomaru and he collapsed to his knees once more. The demon who cared enough to help him up the first time was dead.

Sesshomaru wept.


	7. Aftermath

Curled in the corner of his sleeping quarters, Sesshomaru couldn't stop staring at his claws. The same claws that played tag, dug up roots, and embraced kin had murdered. Nor was it out of defense or noble cause, it had been accidently killing his best friend.

_Was this the price of discovering the special technique I waited so long for? _

For months Sesshomaru refused to budge from his personal exile. What if he lost control again?

More than once – though, less than thrice – Sesshomaru's mother had mumbled that he should go out and play with demons his own age.

The problem was Sesshomaru couldn't _find_ any yokai that wanted anything to do with him since Kai's death. They shied away, whispering how the Dog General's son had it in for all of them. After all, he had become so reclusive what else was there for him to plot?

Then there was Keiken.

The rat-demon didn't give his own tail about his little brother's passing, but all the same he used it as an excuse to bully Sesshomaru.

In all, he'd done quite a job of convincing the other young demons he'd be their "protector" against the "future tyrant."

"What's the matter, lapdog?" Keiken's eyes gleamed, his smile cruel.

Sesshomaru gasped for air, still winded after the last kick. He'd made the painful mistake of going for a walk alone.

"Ain't 'cha gonna answer?" Bones popped as claws lengthened. "I thought it was a leader's duty to speak for himself!"

The rat's claw struck viciously over Sesshomaru's skull. Speculating yokai children drew nearer at the display of gore.

_I don't have to tolerate this_, Sesshomaru thought. Yet here he was, all but eating up every ounce of abuse Keiken hurled. It didn't quite register that guilt still nested and felt justified with each blow.

_This over-sentiment is ridiculous, it's what's going to get me killed right now._

"Enough." Sesshomaru spat out blood, anchoring his glare on Keiken.

"Or what?" the rat smirked. "You'll go yelping home to Mommy an' sic her on us?"

Sesshomaru kept his mouth shut that she wouldn't have cared anyway. Instead he stood his ground.

"Standin' up? On your knees, dog!"

Keiken's swiped only air as his target rolled away.

The daiyokai didn't waste time trying to orientate himself on two legs. He scampered off on all fours.

"Hey, get back here, coward!" Keiken's increasingly distant voice hollered.

Sesshomaru mirthlessly smiled; the knave couldn't hope to match his speed.

There was a deep forest up ahead, it offered a sweet refuge from the harsh world of brutality and blood.


	8. Ningen

To Sesshomaru the breeze murmured gentle sympathy when he entered the forest haven. Water and tears mingled as he washed up in the nearby stream. Sesshomaru's sorrow was beginning to simmer.

_That jerk, Keiken. I should just turn my claws on him and be done with it. _

The image of his adversary's proximity just to dowse him with a decent acidic spray flashed through Sesshomaru's mind. Then there was still Keiken's size and experience – the venom claws would be next to useless.

_Wait; there was that yoki whip Father once demonstrated. _

Sesshomaru extended his hand, envisioning his aura collecting on his claws, he soon saw his hand becoming luminescent.

_This is it!_

With a sudden cry, he flung out his energy to the nearest tree, but instead of a satisfactory stump all he glimpsed a flickering crackle that barely rustled the grass around the roots.

A little dismayed, though undeterred, Sesshomaru prepared for another go when the atmosphere was shaken with – his ears pricked – singing?

He peered through the next hedge not sure what he was going to spy. A demon perhaps?

Rather, to Sesshomaru's wonderment, it was a human! Or at least he thought it was a human. It certainly wasn't yokai, there was no aura, but the young dog-demon couldn't be too sure; he'd never seen a human up-close before.

Whatever it was, the creature seemed harmless and totally ignorant of his presence. The stories of the stupidity of mortals raced through his mind, and all of Sesshomaru curiosity was answered when he glimpsed its ears. They weren't normal; they were a strange alien round – human.

Sesshomaru inched closer, creeping behind a tree for a better view. If humans had similar shapes to the temporary forms of demons, this mortal appeared to be female.

_She must be about five centuries_, Sesshomaru figured by her development.

As she foraged for herbs and berries, Sesshomaru caught the pitch of her tune.

The dulcet notes drew him nearer. He closed his eyes, listening. How extraordinary these humans were! The vocal manifestations of their souls seemed ever more entrancing than any demon's! Dull and boring insects Mother had titled them; how absurd!

Suddenly the girl's singing grew faint. Snapping his eyes open, Sesshomaru realized the young mortal had drifted off afar. He scrambled to his feet, letting his nose guide him to wherever she had wandered. It didn't take long as Sesshomaru soon found himself approaching the outskirts of a small village.

He scanned the area until his amber gaze found her again. Sesshomaru slunk quietly forward, sticking to the shadows. He wanted to greet her, introduce himself, find out who she was, but something instinctive told him to stay back or he would regret it. For once his curiosity subsided.

The girl walked up to a small hut and was greeted by more humans. A pair of younger ones – Sesshomaru assumed they were siblings – scurried over to examine the contents of her basket, while two older mortals approached.

_Her mother_ and _father?_ Sesshomaru wondered.

The couple embraced their eldest, inquiring if she had fared well. She reiterated some anecdote and they all shuffled into the hut laughing together.

Night completely cloaked the fields now, but around that particular dwelling Sesshomaru could see a halo of brightness still shone.


	9. Mother's Advice

It was the month's moonless night, and Sesshomaru had managed to creep back home without a hitch. In the central chamber, he found his mother plucking a biwa, composing a piece.

She appeared completely at ease, now would be the ideal time to ask the perfectly simple question he'd carried home.

"Mother?"

"Hm?" She didn't look up.

"What's love?"

Her fingers froze over the strings. She slid her gaze over to her son. Sesshomaru stood stock still.

"From where did you hear that…term?"

"I – I went to – I mean, I heard some humans use it." With his own answer came several more questions: why was he sweating? Why was Mother scrutinizing him so? Was he in trouble? For what?

"Sesshomaru." Her tone was chirpy, but clipped. "What were you doing so close to humans?"

_Why does she get to ask all the questions?_ "I was, ah, passing through a village."

His mother's nose twitched, she looked him directly in the eye. "Do not lie to me, Sesshomaru."

The young demon squirmed. "I'm s-sorry, _Haha-ue_. My curiosity took hold of me and I followed a girl to her home. That is where I heard the word used." He hung his head, though not entirely sure for what he was supposed to be ashamed. The word? The girl? The lie? All three? Sesshomaru desperately wished someone would answer his questions.

"Well, what is love?" All too late, Sesshomaru slapped a hand over his mouth.

His mother arched an eyebrow, but said nothing of it and turned back to the biwa, examining the instrument. After a few excruciating seconds she breathed, "Love is the emotional connection that takes time to forge, time to extinguish. It is more than extreme fondness and an affliction common to humans. It is also the opposite of hate."

Sesshomaru couldn't remember the last time his mother had explained so much. He found the courage to ask another question. "Do you _love_ me?"

For a split second her eyes widened, then went back to their languid amusement. She placed a considering hand to her chin; he'd been honest, she _was_ quite fond of him, and he was her son … "Yes, Sesshomaru," she said at last. "I believe I do love you."

Sesshomaru couldn't recall the word "believe" being a part of the conversation he'd overheard, but he smiled back anyway. "Thank you, Mother," he bowed formally. "I love you, too."

He suddenly remembered the gesture accompanying the phrase. Sesshomaru padded forward and – much to her mixed pleasure – hugged his mother

She awkwardly stroked his short mane and nudged him along. "It's late, Sesshomaru. You should get yourself to bed." The child was still smiling and it was infectious. Amaratsu above! What was she supposed to do if he _kissed_ her?

She sighed inwardly as she walked him to his sleeping quarters. _More than anything else right now, little Sesshomaru, I pity you. _

She knew his curiosity would get the better of him again sooner or later, but it would be much worse. He had yet to learn the difference between predator and prey and which role he ought to be. What more could she do than offer her son one last piece of advice as he entered the room?

"Don't play with your food, Sesshomaru." Every mother said it, but she made sure to add, "It may turn around and bite _you_ first."

--

_A/N: Yeah, I know I had to lighten up on Sesshomaru's mother's (geez, Rumiko give the woman a name) character since chapter three. I don't think she's necessarily a bad parent; it's just that she's not exactly involved and it's that _laissez faire_ quality that does more harm than good to her son. _


	10. Akiko

_A/N: Kudos to anyone who can tell which "InuYasha" song is referred to in this chapter. It's one of my favs. _

--

Despite Mother's admonitions to avoid the humans, Sesshomaru was inexorably drawn to their villages. More specifically, the one he visited yesterday. Perhaps today he could introduce himself to that girl and he'd actually have a friend again.

He crept over to the fishing snares where she usually first went and waited. She arrived on schedule, but – much to Sesshomaru's chagrin – she didn't notice him. Several moments, then minutes slipped by until he finally cleared his throat.

"Oh!" The girl was startled by the abrupt noise. "Where'd you come from?"

Sesshomaru scratched his head. Apparently these humans weren't the most perceptive species. "I was sitting here before you showed up." Then he blurted, "I'm Sesshomaru, wanna be friends?"

She quirked an eyebrow; here was this fur-toting, rich kid with the strangest face-paint she'd ever seen asking if they could be friends?! Either he was jerking her chain or he was crazy. She couldn't quite stop gawking at the crescent mark on his forehead. Maybe he was both. Really what sort of name was Sesshomaru?

"Well, ah," she struggled to keep the fish in her basket. "I'm not sure if – Ah! My fish!"

A pair of carp had wriggled out of the basket and were making their way to freedom. Sesshomaru shot a claw after each.

"Here." He suppressed a wince as he snapped the spines with a twitch of talons and returned them to the basket.

"Thanks." The girl smiled; he was nice and still sort of a little kid. "Perfect Killer, hm? Well, I'm no one to pass judgment. Could you imagine being called Akiko? Autumn-child? I think that says something about my parents' creativity. Anyway, here, Perfect Boy, you can help carry lunch." Akiko shoved the basket into Sesshomaru's arms before he even got out an okay.

She set off marching for the woods – obviously expecting Sesshomaru to follow – continuing her monologue. "So now I gotta find some firewood and I always wonder why _I_ have to be the one to do to it and not work in the fields with Sikiko. I'm the oldest, why do I hafta be the errand girl?"

Akiko hoisted a second basket full of bramble on her back, then turned to Sesshomaru. "I'm now going to gather some plants I was told to pick up – not sure why Mom didn't mention 'em yesterday – you gonna come?"

Sesshomaru wasn't sure how much longer he could bear the stench of fish, but he nodded. If it meant she would sing again, he'd tag along. Though, he couldn't help saying, "Why didn't you catch these on your way back?"

Akiko didn't slow her pace. "Because they were the first stop on my way, it's logical. They won't go bad in couple hours an' no one can steal 'em while they're with me, duh!"

Sesshomaru tried breathing through his mouth.

She whirled around to stare at him again. "So where _are_ you from? What's up with your fur-thingy? Was it dark when you put on your make-up this morning?"

The last made Sesshomaru grin wide enough to flash fang. Akiko yelped, "Wow! Are those real?"

Sesshomaru sorted through her questions and answered in order. "I'm from the far Western Territories, my 'fur-thingy' is my own mane, I was born with it just like my face stripes and moon, and yeah, my fangs are real. Where are yours? Don't humans have any?"

"You say that like you aren't."

"I'm not. I'm a dog-demon."

Akiko doubled over with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"A d-dog-demon?" Akiko gasped. "How gullible do I look? That's what the elders told us when we were your age and what the occasional superstitious traveler raves about! There are no such things as yokai."

The mononoke felt offended. "How do _you_ know we don't exist?"

"I've never seen one."

"I'm one!"

"Prove it."

Sesshomaru thought, but only came up with, "My fur-thingy?"

Akiko sniggered. "At that rate everyone in the village could be a demon if they hunted an animal."

"All right, all right. Uh…my facial markings? They don't wash off, you know."

"Nah, if they're birthmarks that doesn't count."

"Okay, you ever see a human with silver hair?"

"Three summers ago, Kurosaki moved in and he had white hair _and_ pink eyes." Akiko grimaced. "He also couldn't do a day's work in the sun without collapsing; I think it ran in his family."

Sesshomaru scuffed dirt under his heel and Akiko started foraging. "Wait, how 'bout my eyes? They're amber and _yours_ are brown!"

She hardly spared a glance. "There were once some visitors with eyes the color of the sky."

Sesshomaru wracked his brain, then he finally remembered what he had noticed first about Akiko. "Your ears! Your ears aren't like mine!" The inu-yokai flexed his pointed ears. "See?"

Akiko walked back over. "Huh, that is weird…but it doesn't make you a demon."

"Why not?"

"You haven't eaten me. All demons eat children from what I heard."

Sesshomaru blinked. Why would he want to eat something that talked back? Besides, cattle and boar tasted better. "I wouldn't eat you."

"See? You're also nice. What demon is nice?"

A few choice words about the so-called temperament of humans came to mind, but Sesshomaru dropped it. He'd figure out a way to prove himself later, and right now implored, "Could you sing like you did yesterday, Akiko?"

Akiko smiled, people were usually telling her to shut up. "For you, yes." She opened her throat and sang about unchanged, forgotten blue skies, overcoming a false scheme, and rusted hearts beating once more.

Sesshomaru sighed. Suddenly, he jolted upright with realization. "I'm sorry, Akiko," he interrupted. "But look, I really _am_ a daiyokai."

"I'm sure you are." Her voice dripped with sarcasm at the interlude. "Go ahead and show me."

Sesshomaru smiled at the opportunity. "Okay, watch." He stood, and let his temporary guise slip away.

"Se-Sesshomaru?" Akiko began to panic. Those strange stripes grew ragged and his eyes were flushing to crimson.

"Hold on," Sesshomaru growled as his storm of yoki enveloped him. "I know this looks weird at first, but…"

A ten-foot puppy emerged from the whirlwind. He pounded his forepaws playfully and wagged his tail in the air, but all Akiko had eyes for were the rows and rows of serrated teeth.

She tried scrabbling to her feet, but stumbled over the next root. She screamed.

For the second time in one year, Sesshomaru saw raw terror. In Akiko was etched the same fright that Kai and all the other demon children wore, and it was all because of him. Everyone of them was terrified when they realized _what_ Sesshomaru was.

The dog-demon felt like his heart would tear in two. He couldn't let it end this way with Akiko, he'd give anything to mend that broken smile. He moved his muzzle forward for a reassuring lick…_that_ was a mistake.

WHACK!

Sesshomaru howled his pain as Akiko prepared to take a second swing with the thorn brush in her hands. He didn't give her a second chance and turned tail, bounding off for home.

Apparently, even the forest wasn't always a refuge.


	11. Intermission

She watched him come slinking home, his tail literally between his legs, but there was nothing for it. Sesshomaru's mother had warned him about the perfidy of humans. He'd have to sort this one out on his own.

The next morning, when Sesshomaru had calmed himself enough to resume his temporary shape, he sulked outside in the palace garden.

_Why did I come to trust that girl? Was I being a fool? Akiko was a hypocrite; she said to show her and she became just as afraid as everyone else in the end…_

He felt his hand crackle.

_How dare I think she was different?!_

A jolt of energy shot from Sesshomaru's talons and split the stone before him.

_But why do they hate me?_

The claws still glowed.

_For this?!_

A whip hissed through the air, serving a bamboo stalk.

_For what I am? Why?_

The yoki whip lashed again.

_Why? Why? Why?_

Each question had only a whip crack for an answer.

He finally sank to the ground. His aura spent.

A sudden warm breeze encompassed him.

"That's quite a yoki whip you've got there, now."

Sesshomaru looked up. "Father!"

"Heh, I guess you missed me," Inu no Taisho chuckled as his son leapt into his arms.

Sesshomaru couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so secure. He ached to tell his father about how his life had become the absolute definition of wretched, all that came out was, "Could you teach me to channel my energy better?"

The Dog General's laughter was as comforting as any lullaby, and Sesshomaru loved the way his bushy eyebrows rose with the expression.

"Business as always, hm?"

"Sorry, Dad, I didn't mean..."

"No, it's no trouble. C'mon, watch and learn."

For the next few days, Inu no Taisho gave a through crash course in yoki control until Sesshomaru felt like his talons would disintegrate. Finally, the Great Dog started to sweat. "All right, time for a break. I better go check on your mother."

Sesshomaru nodded and settled down to wait. He started drifting off to sleep when he was startled by a deep snarl, it was coming from inside.

He pressed his ear to the wall; in soft, harsh tones Mother and Father were growling. He couldn't pick up every phrase, but there were enough: "I told you he's going to end up on a pike before his fifth century! You have to teach him they're prey like -" "Like what? It's that sort of behavior that'll keep them thinking he needs to be exterminated!" "It keeps them in line - don't be an idiot!" "Idiot am I?"

Sesshomaru leapt away from the main screen just before his father burst through. Inu no Taisho started gathering his aura in a cloud under him.

"Now where are you off to?"

"I'll be back soon, kid. Take care."

Sesshomaru wanted to follow and didn't dare go inside, but instead he sat, waiting.

--

At least twelve winters passed before Sesshomaru saw his father again, but to the young dog-demon that was shortest absence he'd known yet.

Sesshomaru's mother stepped out to the porch, smiling gently to her mate. Inu no Taisho reciprocated, and Sesshomaru simply grinned.

The set years prior to the Dog General's next leave, were the happiest Sesshomaru would remember.


	12. Reunion

Sesshomaru didn't know how much time had passed since he last saw Akiko – or any other human for that matter – but he figured it'd been a long enough span for them to make amends. He hoped.

An autumn gale delivered him to the fringes of Akiko's village by sunset. Somehow, though, the area seemed different, more…desolate.

_Whatever_. Sesshomaru shrugged off the unease. _Now we can set things straight, and maybe still be friends._

"Akiko!" Sesshomaru called. He walked into the fields where some young girls still worked. "Have any of you seen Akiko?"

The children stared at him. "You sure you got the right village?"

"Yes, this is where Akiko lives. I remember perfectly."

"Well," piped another, "I guess I could get her for you." The girl took a deep breath. "MOM! Hey, MOOOM!"

_Mom?! _

"Some weirdo's out here t' see ya! Sez he 'members you or somethin'!"

An older woman in her forties stormed out of the hut. "Masae! What have I told you about shou—" Akiko froze in mid-sentence with her mouth still agape.

"So do you know him?"

"Masae," Akiko swallowed. "Take your sisters inside and stay there."

"Aw, but—"

"DO IT!"

When her children were in the house, Akiko turned back to the unexpected guest. "What are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru blinked. "I came to say hi, but what happened to _you_? How'd you get so…?"

"I'm _human_, Sesshomaru! It's what happens to us! We age!"

The daiyokai backed away, he hadn't anticipated such an outburst. Or change.

"Akiko," he began, "I'm sorry…I didn't realize…"

She inhaled. Staring at Sesshomaru she appeared completely in control once more.

_Geez, humans were weird!_

Akiko's gaze weighed on him, he'd barely aged since the day she met him. "Yes, Sesshomaru, I'm sorry for overreacting when I last saw you, and maybe for right now." She sighed. "Look, you'd better go."

"What for?"

Akiko's face flushed again. "It's not like the old days any more. Lately, we've had no shortage of bandits _or_ demons, it's probably from trading with the Mainland, but I know the others might see you as a threat."

Sesshomaru was about to defy her again for the heck of it when a voice yelled, "Akiko! Who's that?"

"It looks like a demon!" shouted another.

"Sesshomaru, GO!" Akiko shoved him the final yards out of the village bounds.

He spun around. "Wait, I wanted to tell you –"

"There he be!"

Sesshomaru felt a tap on his right leg. He glanced with just enough time to see the firestick's fuse blow.

He yelped piteously as the shrapnel dug into his leg and sent him careering into the dirt.

"Sesshomaru!"

"Move, woman! We've got him!"

Sesshomaru staggered to his feet and dashed between the trees.

"Don't celebrate, idiots! The damn yokai's escapin'!"

"After him!"

Torches were lit, horses mounted, Sesshomaru was running – the hunt was on.


	13. The Hunt

The strange new blast powder was playing havoc on his nervous system and had set his leg ablaze with pain; but he was running for safety, for his life, but unfortunately, Sesshomaru was also running out of breath. The hunters weren't far behind now and the frantic daiyokai could smell their burning torches, a couple of which had earlier managed to singe his fur.

_But why?_ he wondered. _Why are they trying to kill me?_

Sesshomaru hadn't wronged their clan. He had only been passing by, having a conversation at worst, but never had he meant any villager harm. Were these humans so quick to judge? They didn't know what he was like, so didn't they want to find out? Didn't they care?

The young dog-demon tried to ignore the growing agony in his dragging limb to no avail. Those chemicals of the Mainland hindered his normal demonic abilities and that was going to cost him his life. Already his nose was flooded with the scent of his pursuers; they were practically on his heels.

_Perhaps it's because they're ignorant. Then why don't they ask? Perhaps it's because they're afraid? But they're chasing me. Perhaps it's because… they simply don't care? _

It didn't dawn on Sesshomaru so much as it sank into him.

_My compassion, my mercy are wasted on these creatures. They care nothing of it. But I do. Is this what will make me weak? Cause my death? _

Sesshomaru answered his own question, "Yes." He heard the humans round the next tree. "But I am not weak."

"Death to ye, demon!" The men readied their swords.

_I will not die by the hands of these insects. _

Sesshomaru felt an empty calm wash over himself. The strongest would be left standing and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

"Kill him!"

A score of blades were raised while one poison whip snaked through them all. The last motionless form hit the earth.

"Weaklings," spat the lone survivor.


	14. Last Kicks

The physical strain was next to unbearable, mental exertion was exhausting, and the stench of human blood made Sesshomaru's head swim.

He ached to fall asleep right there in the forest, or better yet under the rock next to him, but the recent carnage would only attract more demons. Sesshomaru shuddered to think how they might "have their fun" with a pre-prepped morsel like him.

The dog-demon had only limped a short distance when he heard the clamor of a reveling yokai pack. Crouching under the cover of a bush, Sesshomaru stopped to listen. His curiosity stifled the pain and even the impulse that screamed, "Run, idiot!" when he identified their scent.

"Say, Keiken?"

"Wha'?" The rat-demon took a deep swig from his saké gourd.

"How come you haven't been goin' after that Sesshomaru twerp lately?"

"Yeah, I thought we was due f'r a good laugh by now, but you've just been sittin' on yer tail like –"

"Shut up! We'll get 'im t'morrow."

They were quiet again until something like a hairball with one eye in the center gurgled, "If you ask me, I'd say you were too scared to go around messin' with him since the Dog General was there." The demon's eye closed from the bottom up in amusement. "Keiken, you were afffraaaaid."

The gang roared with laughter.

"Shut up!" Keiken bashed his gourd over an imp's head. Everyone shut up. "Look, I could take that shrimpy Sesshomaru any day!"

"Then," whispered the hairball, "why don't you do it now when he's right behind you?"

Sesshomaru turned to run, but already Keiken was in front of him.

"Goin' somewhere, sneak?"

A sharp backhand sent the inu-yokai reeling.

The rest of the demons snickered, forming a tight semi-circle around the two.

Sesshomaru tried calling up his aura, but it was already an effort just to remain conscious, never mind focusing on one image of Keiken.

"Ya know, dog-boy, I actually like nice guys like you." Keiken's tail flicked menacingly. " 'Cause they don't fight back!" The tail struck Sesshomaru across the other cheek and all went black for a moment.

A piece of survival instinct urged Sesshomaru to his feet once more. He snarled, "Get your kicks while you can, rat!"

"Tch," Keiken gave a wry smile, "fer once you're right!"

The kick connected and something snapped. Sesshomaru hacked as his left side gave. Choking up the blood was painful, but the following tears were worse.

"Ha! Let 'im have it again, boss!"

"Yeah, I think ya got him cryin'!"

"Hear that, puppy-boy? End of the line." Keiken's claw was poised for the final strike, but rather than flesh under nails he felt piercing pain slam his palm into a tree's trunk. He frantically tried to pull the offending arrow out, shouting at his laughing companions to help him.

Sesshomaru paused in his heaving to glance around for the archer. No sign of him.

"Who shot it?!" Keiken demanded, finally freed. "Who fired that damn arrow?!"

In his still bleeding claw he clutched the arrow and sniffed it. The tip had been blessed at a shrine, but that didn't cloak the lingering human odor.

Sesshomaru eyes widened when he saw Keiken raise his head and start scenting the air.

"Hey! Down here!" Sesshomaru felt an urgent surge of power and lashed it at Keiken's exposed midsection.

The rat-demon stumbled, cradling the lacerated area. "How the – ?"

Sesshomaru stood now, he smelled their fear, but he didn't flinch this time. He had their attention and the fear gave him that.

Conjuring what yoki remained, the daiyokai flung out a rippling shockwave that raised the hackles off of every demon in the vicinity.

Keiken barked a retreat, an order no one questioned.

They hadn't been gone but a few moments and Sesshomaru couldn't find the strength to stand. This time, though, he didn't hit the dirt – a warm pair of arms saw to it.

"Gods! Sesshomaru, can you hear me?"

Sesshomaru mumbled the name he thought matched, "Akiko?"

She sighed and set down the bow and quiver of arrows. "Amaratsu! You're alive!" Immediately Akiko started removing the shrapnel from the demon's leg. Sesshomaru was too weak to protest. Instead he lay quietly, trying to let his bones and muscle re-knit.

Akiko had barely moved on to bandaging the wound when Sesshomaru suddenly sat up and grumbled, "That's enough."

"What do you think you're doing?" she gasped. "You haven't had proper time to rest!"

"Leave me, Akiko," Sesshomaru coughed.

"But those demons…"

"Are the kind that would eat you." he finished, and unsteadily rose.

"Sesshomaru," Akiko's voice cringed, "I'm sorry..." she said it to his back.

"Spare me the sympathy," he paused. "Human."

Akiko remained stagnant on the ground as Sesshomaru disappeared into the shadows.


	15. Vicious Cycle

_A/N: I apologize for Keiken's foul mouth because I'm sure he wouldn't. _

-

"Where the hell has he been?!" Keiken paced a trench in the earth. "That damn cur Sesshomaru hasn't shown his stupid, striped face in…" He paused to count on his talons.

Another yokai coughed into his fist. "A century and a half, boss."

"I know that!" Keiken hissed. He resumed pacing, staring at his scarred left claw. It hadn't healed properly since the night the arrow struck and the rat-demon cursed Sesshomaru every time the pain welled up. It hadn't the dog's arrow, but he'd been there all the same. It made perfect, twisted sense.

Keiken's sulk was disturbed by a shuffling.

The one-eyed, hairball demon scooted forward. "I haven't seen you making any attempts to knock on Sesshomaru's gates and just call him out."

Keiken let his eyes glow, but the other demon didn't blink. Instead it continued, "You still fear his greater power, don't you?"

"Go t' hell."

It chuckled. "I can see into your heart, Keiken. You're concerned that Sesshomaru's been getting stronger all this time. That he's been training to pay you back tenfold."

"Y-yeah? An' how'd you know I just don't wanna get tangled up with his queen bitch mother?"

"I know that too, Keiken," it gurgled. "I know that too." With sudden uncharacteristic speed, the yokai skidded out of the way as Keiken struck the area.

"Tch, one of these days, when you ain't lookin'." The rat brandished his claws. "The same'll go for the mutt's mom. As it is, I hear she doesn't even give attention to her own mate. You ask me, she's just some –"

"What _is_ my mother, Keiken?"

Dark hair on end, the rat-demon didn't want to turn and meet the owner of the low growl. Sesshomaru helped him. Digging talons into his shoulder, the inu-yokai spun Keiken around, hot breath scorching his face. "Care to complete your sentence?"

Keiken's mind blanked out. Here was the brat he'd been waiting to pound for over a century and now it didn't look like Sesshomaru would be the one to be beaten to a bloody pulp. Then there was also something different about the dog-demon. He still looked pretty young – could've passed for a twelve-year-old human – but that didn't conceal the tightness of the lip, the steel in the eyes. If Keiken knew anything, it was there wasn't only one way to age.

The other demons noticed today's entertainment had begun. Keiken could feel them watching. He gripped the striped wrist. "Ready to end this?"

Sesshomaru nodded.

Claws slashed but missed their target when the daiyokai glided backward. Keiken side-stepped as a golden light-whip cracked an inch from his neck. He rubbed the singed flesh, then darted ahead. Sesshomaru's afterimage was all he caught.

The rest of the yokai gang grimaced to watch their leader's exposed back receive the whiplash.

Keiken fell face-first into the dirt.

"Such a vicious cycle, eh, rat?" Sesshomaru let a small smile slip.

Keiken staggered up, already resorting to transformation. His eyes narrowed and bled to crimson, fur flowed over his face, and ropes of saliva swung from his incisors. Though, the rat-demon's bloodcurdling hiss was an empty threat. The second he sprang for his target, there was a sharp pain in his chest.

Sesshomaru followed through with his block, leapt forward, and pinned Keiken to the ground.

The dog-demon remembered something from those many years ago. "I enjoy facing low-lives like you, Keiken," he smirked mirthlessly. "It lets me be as cruel as I want."

"What? Hey, wait don't sink down to my level!" The rat's eyes searched for mercy. "I like nice guys! I really do! I was just –"

"Save it." Sesshomaru shoved his claw down Keiken's throat and released the pent-up poison.

For the second time, a rat-demon was liquefied by Sesshomaru's venom claws. For the first time, the he didn't give a damn.

Sesshomaru stood.

The rest of the demons shrunk back, fear-stricken. Sesshomaru knew they wouldn't dare come near him now, and that was just fine. The empty cold was reassuring.

"Get in line, vermin," he snarled. "There's been a passing of the pack."

Frantically, the weaker yokai obeyed and shoved to form a line. Then there was a spit of disgust.

"And what right do you have to lead?" A fox-demon bared his fangs. The others turned to him.

Sesshomaru didn't waste time with bravado. A poison-laced light-whip felled the kitsune where he stood.

"Anyone else?"

Not another demon dissented. Or spoke.

"Good. Let's move."

Sesshomaru knew if he utilized their simple brawn to its fullest, not another being – human or yokai – would stand in his immediate way. This new power would protect him. It was a warm surge through his talons.

_Yet why do I feel so cold?_


	16. A Matter of Arms

Sesshomaru strode back into his father's empty quarters and analyzed the assembled sets of unused armor. Trying on a breastplate, he lurched to the floor. A few moments later there was a resonating _clunk!_

_Curse it. _

He suddenly felt an icy presence. "Yes, Mother?"

"What are you doing with your father's armor?"

Sesshomaru negated the question. "Where can I get my own?"

"We have a set." She arched an eyebrow. "Where have you been these few days?"

"Does it matter?"

She watched him hoist off the breastplate. He seemed older than she remembered. "No," she sighed. "I suppose it doesn't."


	17. The Kirin

Sesshomaru smirked. He was officially half way through his sixth century today and what better way to celebrate than to claim a pivotal plot of land?

The young dog-demon had laid full siege to that quadrant and its residential village by mid-morning. When the sun reached its zenith, every other life form, save Sesshomaru and his party, had either fled or been exterminated. Or so Sesshomaru thought.

A sudden scuffle from the next shed over made the daiyokai's claws go rigid for battle. Without a second thought, he ripped off the door and peered in.

Eyes as round as last night's moon, a collared deer was huddled in the farthest corner of the shack.

Sesshomaru sniffed the air, then entered.

The deer bleated and backed up farther, hoping it might meld with the walls.

No such luck.

Collar in one hand, muzzle in the other, Sesshomaru dragged the deer out into the open. To where his demon troops waited.

The inu-yokai was greeted with more "Wow, boss! Where'd ja find that tasty bite?" than he usually tolerated, but he kept walking until he and the deer were back in the forest.

"Aw, it's not fair!" some whined. "Master Sesshomaru's hording the deer to himself!"

Sesshomaru snapped for the rest to find their own quarry and reluctantly the other demons slunk off.

Finally alone with its captor, the deer squeezed its eyes shut, waiting for the poised claw to descend.

It did. And harmlessly to the ground fell away the collar.

Sesshomaru stepped back. "You're free now… kirin."

The deer bucked in elation as it was engulfed in a brilliant aura. Squinting into the light, Sesshomaru watched the beast's head become lion-like with a pair of dainty pricket antlers appeared preceding its flowing mane. The kirin shook off the fur for emerald scales and small flames flickered at its leg joints.

A deep bow conveyed the kirin's gratitude and Sesshomaru quietly returned the gesture.

"Now," he said sternly, "return to your ethereal home. This era of war between the Taira and Minimoto is no place for you."

The kirin nodded and threw its magnificent hooves into the air, and tumbled back to the ground.

Sesshomaru strode to its side. "You have grown weighted with the sins you've witnessed in this world, hm?"

Nodding.

Confounded, Sesshomaru postulated his next course of action.

_I can't leave it alone, it'll be fair game. I could take it home and ask Mother's advice, but why should I go to such trouble?_

The kirin locked its haunted aquamarine gaze on Sesshomaru. Its raw anguish, despair, fear were ineffable. Sesshomaru knew this fragile creature needed a protector – nay – a savior of some kind.

"All right, be still." He grabbed the kirin by the ankles and hoisted it on to his back – and that was as far as he got.

Sesshomaru gasped under his hefty load. _It may look light, but this thing weighs a ton!_

The kirin bleated wondering what the hold up was.

"Get off," Sesshomaru grunted.

It complied, but stared at the daiyokai with disappointment.

"How long have you been trapped in this realm?"

The kirin bleated.

"Hmph, you can no longer even speak." Sesshomaru made a decision. "Wait here, I'll make the trip myself."

More bleating. Frantic this time.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and tramped back to the village, searching for his pack. He found two.

"Seika! Rao!:

The pair of demons lurched over. "What?"

"Did the others go hunting?"

Seika shrugged his scales, Rao swiped at a passing moth. Sesshomaru clamped a claw on each of their throats.

"Well, you shall have to do." He released the gagging yokai only after dragging them to the kirin. "Now listen, all I want to you to do is guard this beast. I think that's within the limits of your mental capacities."

Rao blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Watch the kirin until I return!!" Sesshomaru was about to fly off when another thought arose. "And if anyone takes a bite, I'll kill him!"

Seika snapped his fingers and slouched down.

Sesshomaru took a condensed comet form. He needed to hurry.

--

It was dusk when Sesshomaru returned to the forest again and he replayed the afternoon's events.

Found a kirin. Couldn't send it back. Called for two guards and sought out Mother. Said to take the kirin to a shrine. Begged her to come, she said there would be no point. Now Sesshomaru understood why.

Before him lay the decapitated remains of Rao and Seika, his troops, but they were dispensable. What compelled the demon to look away was the violently strewn body of the helpless kirin.

Its jaws gaped in a silent scream. Upon closer inspection, Sesshomaru realized each of its fangs had been torn out and the antlers ripped from its head. The regal mane, shaved off. Here and there patches of scales had been scalped, though none of the flesh had been eaten.

_What manner of demon doesn't eat its prey?_

A second glance to Rao and Seika's armor stripped carcasses cinched it.

_Humans_.

Much as he hated to, Sesshomaru sniffed the area. A clash of brigands had rampaged through here. They must have noticed the abandoned village, but in the woods discovered the real treasures – the teeth, antlers, mane, and scales of a defenseless creature. Armor and weapons were a well-received bonus.

_Wretched beasts that kill without cause...tch, who else?_

Sesshomaru spun on his heel. He shouldn't have even bothered protecting that lump of scales in the first place. It had been a waste of time and he had no need of it.

Marching out of the deep forest, Sesshomaru left behind more than a kirin's corpse.


	18. Inu no Taisho's Return

Quite some time had passed before Sesshomaru reached adolescence and was reunited with a long awaited visitor.

"_Chichi-ue_, it's been a while." Sesshomaru warmly and respectfully greeted his parent as he entered the castle grounds.

"My, you've grown since I last remember. What's it been decades?"

"Centuries," Sesshomaru corrected.

"Mm, yes, of course." Inu no Taisho shuffled a little uneasily. The sixteen-year-old appearance was a bit different than the boy he'd left behind.

Sesshomaru didn't notice. "Father?"

"Hm, Seizamaru?"

"Sesshomaru."

"Right. Yes, Sesshomaru?"

"Could you…ah, please share some of your experiences? What did you see on your travels?"

Inu no Taisho's smile returned and, taking up a seat on the porch, he began to animatedly talk of the strange beasts he encountered, uncharted lands claimed, and hordes of demons vanquished.

"Heh, and Tetsusaiga has only made the job easier!" he concluded, brandishing a finely forged blade.

"Where did you get such a sword, Father?" Sesshomaru figured if the blade meant something to his father then it could certainly hold some value to him.

"This sword, Sesshomaru, was forged from one of my great fangs. I won't miss it, though. Tetsusaiga could slay more foes in single swing of its Wind Scar than I could by just chomping down on each opponent with all the teeth in my mouth – ha, ha, ha!"

Sesshomaru didn't know what sort of technique this Wind Scar was, but he was impressed. How could one so powerful be so light-hearted?

"What about the sword on your back? What's that do, Father?"

Inu no Taisho sobered. "That is Sounga, and I would only use it in the most dire of situations. Someone needs to control that demon blade, so I do."

"And the third?"

"Tenseiga. It's the sister-sword of Tetsusaiga."

"Oh. How many demons can it slay?"

"Zero."

Sesshomaru blinked.

"Tenseiga is not a blade with which to fight. It's a healing sword which requires a merciful heart to wield."

"So you can't use it for conquest?"

It was Inu no Taisho's turn to blink. "No, that's not the point of it." He opened his mouth to continue when a shrill voice interrupted.

"Master! Master!" Sesshomaru recognized the irritating squeak of his father's servant.

"What's the matter, Myoga?" The tiny flea had landed on the Great Dog's nose.

"It's the western shores! The demons from the Mainland are invading! And –"

Inu no Taisho stood up. Sesshomaru quickly followed.

"My lord, what are you doing?" Myoga shrieked. "Hyoga, the Great Demon of the region is leading them!"

"So?"

"So?! So he's quite a formidable adversary!"

"Heh, I've no need for concern." He smiled over at Sesshomaru. "My strongest officer shall accompany me."

Sesshomaru beamed. Finally he could show Father the power he was capable of.

"We're off! And Myoga, stop that!" Taking flight, Inu no Taisho swatted the flea as he tried going in for a drink.

Sesshomaru felt a small prick on the side of his neck and was about to slap the nuisance when he found it already hopping away.

"Getting wiser, Myoga?"

"Sorry, m'lord, but your blood doesn't carry the same sweet flavor as your father's."

The young daiyokai wasn't sure if he was relieved or offended. Indeed that parasite would leave him alone, but if his blood wasn't _sweet_ like Father's did that mean it had become bitter?

Sesshomaru swallowed at the thought, actually brightening when the battlefield came into view.


	19. Swords in Action

"Myoga, are you sure this is the right place?" Sesshomaru remarked dubiously, scanning the overcast sky and vacant beach. Vacant with the exception of Inu no Taisho's legions of yokai soldiers; the lower-grades were already sparing just for the smell of blood.

"Attention!" the Dog General thundered. "The dark cloud you see on the horizon, that's the Mainland army!"

Sesshomaru gaped.

"We'll meet them just off the coast, but don't attack until you see the reds of their eyes."

The demons waited with baited breath, and it seemed like an eternity before Inu no Taisho roared, "Now!!"

Sesshomaru wasn't sure if he should shift or not; Father was drawing a sword.

_Tetsusaiga?_

The blade suddenly flashed and was replaced by a giant fang!

_Gods!_

Raising the blade, Inu no Taisho shouted, "Wind Scar!" The completed stroke disintegrated at least a hundred of the approaching demons. The Dog General hollered over to Sesshomaru, "Wanna try?"

Sesshomaru didn't need to be asked twice. He had a strange thought prior to swinging Tetsusaiga.

_I wonder if any of the humans here will be safe._

The next swarm of yokai fell just as easily.

_Heh, weak fools. I bet no mortal twit could wield such power as I. _

Suddenly, sparks began to fly from the Tetsusaiga's hilt. Sesshomaru panicked. "Ah, Father, I believe you should finish off this area. I'll attend to the rest." Shoving the sword back into Inu no Taisho's claws, Sesshomaru darted off lest he shame himself.

The young daiyokai was soon busy defending the eastern front. Though, every so often he glanced back to his father. One moment Tetsusaiga might be swinging and the next the sword on the Dog General's back was drawn.

_Sounga!_

Sesshomaru gazed in awe as a violent twister exploded and strewed scores of enemy demons.

_Yet, why does Tenseiga sit so uselessly by his side? Oh, of course - it's a_ healing _sword. Tch._

Sesshomaru turned back to his battles.

Meanwhile, Inu no Taisho was watching his son with his own degree of amazement. Sesshomaru was a scythe across the land and he was unarmed. When he stopped moving, the Dog General called him to his side. "Sesshomaru, I believe I have a special task for you." Rounding up a squadron of other demons, he ushered them to the outskirts of the forest.

"Now Sesshomaru," Inu no Taisho explained, "these are the outermost limits of the field. I want you to ensure that no demon gets past this boundary."

Sesshomaru glanced behind himself. There was only a simple human castle, but if Father didn't want any yokai tramping past his brigade he'd make sure of it.

"Yes, sir!" Sesshomaru curtly bowed.

Inu no Taisho's smile evaporated with the distant explosion of gunpowder. Shifting to his canine shape, he called, "Good luck, son!"

Sesshomaru watched him go as he had before, but now with finite understanding. "Good luck, Father."


	20. Duel of Daiyokai Part 1

At first there wasn't much action in Sesshomaru's territory. Two or three demons might straggle in, fleeing from battle or whatever, but that was all. The Dog General's son was starting to bet against the other yokai who could pick off the most deserters.

Sesshomaru's light-whip snaked back to his talons. So far, ten to zip.

Suddenly the air came alive with the hum of arrows. Shouting for his squadron to do likewise, Sesshomaru dove for cover.

In an eye-blink his yoki whip was shredding through the infantry line. Then he was up and pressing forward.

Sesshomaru's poison claw technique was going from improved to perfect. But before he could reduce yet another Mainland yokai to so much liquid, a stream of fire shot between them. In the nick of time, Sesshomaru leapt away, twisting in mid-air to glimpse his new foe.

"Very good, little whelp," chuckled a deep-throated voice. "You avoided my flames." A tanned, limber figure stepped closer. Muscles rippled under his sleeveless short-jacket and long-cut pants.

Squinting, Sesshomaru could make out dark stripes along the demon's arms and neck. His eyes were a tinted amber, just like Sesshomaru's, but vermillion hair and dark circled eyes hissed of a different flavor.

Not that it mattered. Sesshomaru sprayed acid directly at the tiger-demon. Surprisingly, his opponent simply smirked and breathed another blaze. What was worse, the flames swallowed up the path Sesshomaru's venom had created!

The inu-yokai sprang away, not risking to be burnt to a cinder.

Then there was that irritating laugh again. "So you're Sesshomaru, I wager? You may call me Masun."

Sesshomaru paused to wonder what was up with the formalities, when he saw an enemy yokai nearly creep past. He lashed at it, but Masun roared and a great circle of fire flared forth.

"Come now," sang Masun. "At first I was disappointed I couldn't find Ryukotsusei."

_Who?_

"But if Lord Hyoga is permitted the Great Dog Demon, I cannot pass up a skirmish with his son."

Sesshomaru assured him, "It will be your last."

Launching himself with full power, Sesshomaru's claws slashed and connected with…air?

The dog-demon felt the armor on his back shatter as he was knocked within an inch of the fiery ring.

"Strange. I expected better of a young daiyokai." Masun pounced, but Sesshomaru had flipped over in time to execute a decimating kick.

Even though he flew careening backwards, the tiger landed flawlessly on his feet, and inside the fire circle.

"I can still handle second-raters like you!" Sesshomaru scoffed.

"Second-raters like me, hm?"

Suddenly it became difficult to breathe. The air was ten times as suffocating. With sinking dread, Sesshomaru realized it was the power of Masun's aura.

"Even the Mainland, dear Sesshomaru, has its scourges. Or as you say, daiyokai."

The ground sizzled just a split second after Sesshomaru rolled away. He didn't dare waste time, and shot his yoki whip in retort. A tempo of urgency thrummed in his skull. He had to finish off his adversary quickly. Returning to his post meant staying alive.


	21. Duel of Daiyokai Part 2

"Heh, pyrophobic?" Masun grinned as he watched Sesshomaru cat-step toward the center of the circle. "Then let's turn the heat up!" The tiger-demon ostentatiously waved his striped arms and the encompassing flares blazed from cinnabar to a scorching white-blue.

Before Sesshomaru could notice the inferno's dramatic temperature increase, there was a swift slug to his stomach. He slashed blindly at the area, only to feel a sharp whack to his spine. The second blow was followed by a third. Then a fourth. Soon the dog-demon was in a cyclone of strikes, and with the smoke clouding his nose, there was no honing in on Masun's location. It was as if the tiger were simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at all. The hurricane had him engulfed on all sides.

Sesshomaru smirked. _Two can play at this game_.

A heartbeat before the next hit, Sesshomaru lashed out his whip, and kept it out. Pivoting on his toes, he whirled faster and faster, letting the poison-laced band of yoki lengthen.

There was a startled cry and Sesshomaru glimpsed Masun stumble to the ring's edge; but he didn't dare stop spinning.

"Tch, cute trick, kid," Masun growled. "But your child's toy scarcely leaves scratches on my skin."

"That wasn't the point." Sesshomaru abruptly broke from his whirlwind and used his "toy" to give a final shove at Masun, closer to the ghastly fire.

"Hah! You still couldn't push me into –" Suddenly the blaze engulfed the tiger-demon, devouring his flammable, poison-soaked form.

Masun roared for the flames to cease, but only succeeded in extinguishing those entrapping Sesshomaru.

By pure instinct, the demon of the Mainland began shifting to his true shape. Some fifty feet at the flank, the massive tiger shook off the embers. "No whelp of a mongrel," snarled Masun, "is ever going to defeat me."

Sesshomaru kept quiet, instead he focused on the build up of venom in his claws.

"You don't even seem to be the equal of Inu no Taisho, much less Ryukotsusei."

There was that name again.

"I now understand why you keep to your little islands, you could never contend with a true daiyokai." White flames sputtered from his jaws. "You are nothing. You are insig– "

"You talk too much." Sesshomaru sprang and flushed the accumulated poison into Masun's mouth just before he spewed up his next wave of fire.

Masun made the fatal error of trying to re-swallow his flames, but the increased volume with no outlet – Sesshomaru shielded himself as smoldering bits of bone and flesh hailed down.

"Phew," breathed the victor.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Quickly!"

Fighting fatigue, Sesshomaru staggered back up to resume his place on the battlefield. It was what a daiyokai did.

--

There were thousands – no – tens of thousands. Most of the Mainland demons were cut off at the beach, but others by the droves slipped past and closer to the forest. Closer to the boundaries of Sesshomaru's line.

_They nearly outnumber us_, grim apprehension washed over Sesshomaru. _How do we stop them? _

Next to him, Masun's head still blazed.

An idea jolted him.

Sesshomaru grabbed the spear of a fallen comrade, stabbed a burning remain, and charged his talons with every ounce of venom and yoki.

_I must fulfill my duty to Father. _

Unleashing a jet-stream of flammable poison on the foremost trees, Sesshomaru used his demonic energy to channel it further along the perimeter. When the last branch was doused, he flung the torch to the nearest pine. Instantly an impenetrable wall roared to life.

Not a moment too soon either. A new rush of scorpions, ogres, and other invading scum was washing in; but not one of them got past the blazing white barrier.

Utterly dizzy and drained, Sesshomaru slumped behind a boulder to catch his breath.

_The enemy's at bay…they're not going past…where Father said. I did my job. _


	22. Awakening

_I'm home._

_Mother is seated next to me. Why is she so quiet?_

_Father…he's standing over me and sheathing a blade. Which sword is that?_

_Did we win? I'll ask when I wake…_

--

"Is he all right?"

"No, but he'll live. What were you thinking pitting him against so many?"

"He wasn't even in the front lines or anything…"

"Then how did he lose so much energy? Fortunately, I know of the Transfer; but don't you know he should have been brought up on battles first, then promoted to all-out wars? Now, what position was he?"

"Does it matter?"

"You had him defending that human castle, didn't you? The one every other demon so ardently sought, no?"

"Well, I…I didn't expect him to perform so well."

"You're his _father_. He's idolized you since day one. If you were around you'd know. Instead, it's all this fuss over one mortal girl."

"…I'm going."

"Where?"

"Out."

"And your son?"

"Let him rest."

"That's the least you could do."

--

Sesshomaru groaned. Murmurings about a mortal girl had unearthed a face whose name he could no longer remember. When he finally opened his eyes, the sun was already setting. His mother glided in.

"You're awake," she observed.

Sesshomaru nodded and sat up. "Where's Father? Did the Mainlanders retreat?"

She had to smile. "With tails between their legs. Your father sealed that moth, Hyoga. Right now, though, your father went" – her mouth twisted – "out."

"Oh." Sesshomaru stood. "I'll follow." Quickly, he threw on his new floral patterned haori.

"Perhaps, you should wait until tomorrow."

But Sesshomaru was already out of the house. He didn't even catch the tapered, "At your own risk."


	23. Father's Secret

_Where is Father going?_

Clinging to the shadows, Sesshomaru trailed quietly after the Great Dog that loped through the starry sky.

He gasped when he saw his Father take second shape at a human settlement.

Avoiding the moonlit patches, Sesshomaru slunk into the thickest area of the garden that was downwind from where Inu no Taisho was heading.

"Izaiyoi," the Dog General softly called. "Izaiyoi, 'tis the first quarter and I have come."

Before he spoke again, a beautiful, young princess emerged from behind the screen. Sesshomaru suppressed a snarl.

"Good evening, my liege." Her smile was gentle. Sesshomaru puzzled over the awkward bow she gave from the shoulders.

"_Liege." Perhaps she is simply an acquaintance. _Sesshomaru was grasping for straws

"Tch, forget the formalities." Inu no Taisho leaned down and – Sesshomaru's stomach lurched – kissed this mortal woman.

"Now then," the Dog General pulled a parcel from his side. "I picked up some new clothes for you. I'm sure you'll look wonderful when the baby arrives."

_Baby?!_ Sesshomaru couldn't believe his ears. He hadn't held any false hopes that his father would remain monogamous, but to choose one of those flagrant, pernicious humans – it was mortifying.

Suddenly his father's words echoed in his mind. _Protect those boundaries with your life._

The boundaries that surrounded this castle that house this vile human female who was screwing Father!

Sesshomaru didn't bother wondering if his eyes were glowing or why his face was wet, he stormed straight into the clearing.

"Is _this_ it?!" he barked, startling both Izaiyoi and the Dog General. "Is _that_ creature the reason for your divided attention? Your petty wars? _My_ near death?"

Although he protectively stood in front of his mistress, Inu no Taisho made no motions to toward his son. Sesshomaru's yoki swirled in rage and stepping toward it was akin to walking into a furnace.

"Sesshomaru," the dog-demon spoke in even-tones. "You should be honored to defend the life of a being gentler than yourself."

" Gentler? Those human wretches?" A harsh laugh escaped. "Did I even consent to it? I _thought_ you were giving me the opportunity to battle as your son, I didn't _realize_ you were as manipulative and selfish as these loathsome mortals!" Sesshomaru felt his talons crack. How he longed to rip that woman's head from her shoulders. Her and – he stopped himself.

Inu no Taisho stalked forward, his gate stiff and gaze unwavering. "Are you through?"

It had started snowing, but a warm current, the kind that augurs thunderstorms, breathed against Sesshomaru. He didn't have to glance down to know Tetsusaiga was half-way out of its scabbard. But he locked eyes with the Dog General.

"Yes," he said, "_we_ are through." Sesshomaru whirled away back into the woods, not caring if there would be anymore words exchanged. Obviously, from the gate, Inu no Taisho hadn't cared at all.


	24. Simmer

Authoritive trees, fresh white powder; for all of the forest's serenity, none of it could quell Sesshomaru's stewing rage. His yoki radiated enough to defrost petrified foliage in the vicinity.

_How dare he?_ he seethed. _How dare Father use me so? And for a mortal no less! Damn him!_

Days had passed since he'd followed Inu no Taisho, but this cold evening as others before couldn't quench the smoldering resentment.

Suddenly, a bellowing voice from the sky rattled him. "Ho there! Mind how your aura flares, little daiyokai."

"Who goes?!" Sesshomaru snarled, not caring how his yoki blazed.

"Ah, you must be _his_ son." The voice drew nearer.

"Show yourself or I shall strike!"

"Calm yourself." The magnolia next to the dog-demon trembled. Presently, a withered, bark-covered face cropped up. "Sesshomaru, isn't it?"

Sesshomaru gawked at the talking tree. Had rage driven him mad?

The inu-yokai felt his temporary guise slip, and the magnolia chuckled. "Now, now," it said. "I am Bokuseno, an old friend of the Great Dog Demon."

Sesshomaru collected himself, then scoffed. "I believe you have a poor choice in adjectives; there is nothing 'great' about my…father."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"It's none of your concern." Sesshomaru prepared to march off.

"It is because of that human princess? Izaiyoi?"

Sesshomaru froze. "All I was to him was a little guard dog…and just as expendable."

Bokuseno shuffled his branches. "Answer me, Sesshomaru; do you know what trust is?"

"Yes."

"Do you really? I have lived for well over fifteen hundred years and still I am amazed how trust takes so long to build and only seconds to destroy. Now, do you know what love is?"

"Where's this leading?"

"Answer if you can."

Sesshomaru thought back. "I was told it was the affliction of the heart. I learned it will make you act irrationally for the one you do love. What's the point?"

Bokuseno chuckled softly. "Do you think your father would have trusted any demon to protect that castle? No, of course not. He chose you, Sesshomaru. Are you aware why? Because he loved you as his son and so trusted you."

"Tch."

"Understand, I have known him for centuries – before you were born – and hardly was that wild hound ever home. He was out for the world, and himself. Could you imagine my surprise when he made time for a white-furred whelp? The Dog General was spending decades in one spot. Every visit was a compromise to reveal more of that sensitive underbelly. Those invading demons – cat, Mainland, what have you – were after more than territory."

The daiyokai snorted. "Are you sure his training sessions weren't for his own purposes?"

"Do you think your father wanted you to go into the world a weakling?"

"Well…"

"No. He knows what's best for you. That's all a Father wants."

Sesshomaru was still.

"Your father does love you. Never deny it." He smiled. "You know, there's a sword heirloom for you."

Ears pricked up. "How much do you know of the Three Swords of the Fang?"

"Tenseiga's and Tetsusaiga's scabbards were carved from my branches. They have been imbued with my power to stave off demonic aura. As of Sounga, I know nothing other than its destructive force."

Sesshomaru pursed his lips. "Father said it takes a strong demon to control Sounga. Do you think I could?"

For all the bark, Bokuseno's laugh was gentle. "You are his son, Sesshomaru. You have his great blood and someday you'll surpass him."

"I look forward to it. I seek ultimate power, the Path of Supreme Conquest."

"Heh, just don't forget your heart along the way."

The snow was coming down again. "Solitude, Bokuseno," Sesshomaru gazed at the branches, "that seems to be the condition for the strong."

The tree was quiet for so long, Sesshomaru wondered if its face had been reabsorbed. Finally, it grumbled, "You mustn't be quick, young lord. Every dog needs his pack. Your father counts on you, more than you think."

The dog-demon was about to scoff when the wind brought a scent that made his hackles rise.

"Where are you headed now?"

"That, as everything prior, is none of your concern."


	25. Last Words

_A/N: This chapter covers the opening scene_ _in_ InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler _(quite a title, no?). I hope I'm able to convey it effectively. _

--

With a nose the envy of every demon, Sesshomaru found him.

Inu no Taisho was painfully hobbling down the snowy beach. He reached Sesshomaru and blood was hacked up. "Where the hell were you?"

"I should be asking you that."

The Dog General growled, "It was Ryukotsusei and some conspirators." Another cough wracked him. "It matters not now…I've more important issues."

Sesshomaru stared at the mortal gash in his father's side. "You're in no condition to go anywhere but home."

Inu no Taisho shuddered and kept walking down the beach. Home was in the other direction. Eventually, the Great Dog collapsed to his knees, but his son made no motion to help him up.

Apprehension cantered up Sesshomaru's spine. Here was the all mighty daiyokai he called father, the one he sought for guidance and approval, whom he forgave because he loved him; but this same great demon couldn't even stand.

Loneliness slithered in, reproach at its heels.

_Right now, it's only me. I'm the strongest. I'm in charge._

Sesshomaru's breath fogged in the frigid air.

Inu no Taisho staggered back to his feet, treading a few considering steps toward the full moon. "You know where I'm headed, don't you?"

Sesshomaru wished he didn't, but he could smell the woman in labor miles away. The scent of Father's dripping blood, however, was more pungent and – to Sesshomaru – twice as pertinent.

"Father," he finally spoke. "Do you insist on going?"

"Do you intend to stop me, Sesshomaru?"

The Dog General could make his own decisions, but it was bordering on sheer madness. Maybe too much blood loss?

"I will not stand in your way." Sesshomaru sighed internally, keeping a blank face. "However, before you go, you must entrust the swords, Sounga and Tetsusaiga, to me."

Inu no Taisho didn't turn around. "And if I refuse, will you kill me? Your own father?"

The words _That's not what I meant_ battered in Sesshomaru's chest, but only the crashing waves spoke.

Finally, Inu no Taisho grunted, "Do you desire power so much? Why do you seek power, my son?"

Sesshomaru remembered what he said to Bokuseno. "The path I walk is the way of supreme conquest, and it is power that will reveal the way for me."

"'Supreme… conquest?'" he enunciated. "Tell me, Sesshomaru, have you someone to protect?"

"Protect?" Amber eyes narrowed. Sesshomaru sighed; then straightened. "The answer is no. I, Sesshomaru, have no need of such." He dismissively waved his talons.

No sooner was the gesture complete, Inu no Taisho erupted into his immense dog shape. Sesshomaru felt himself shrink as the giant canine bounded over head and into the woods.

Standing silently for a few moments, Sesshomaru contemplated what his father had just said.

_Why would I have any reason to waste my time protecting someone? Ridiculous!_

He whirled around and walked back without Father, completely alone.


	26. Passing of the Pack

There was nothing left.

Sesshomaru sifted a claw through the ashes. He sniffed his talons. Not a trace of Father, or that woman.

He took a step forward and the rubble underfoot yelped.

Single-handedly tossing aside a fallen panel, Sesshomaru uncovered a groaning retainer.

"What happened here?"

"Please, noble one," the boy – he was hardly much more – begged, "get me out and I shall answer."

"Of course." Sesshomaru hooked claws into the front of the servant's haori and in one brusque movement yanked him out of the debris.

The retainer cried out.

"You're freed." Sesshomaru still dangled his catch in the air. "Now explain."

"Y-you're a d-demon!" He squirmed, eye whites enormous. "P-put me down!"

"So demanding." Sesshomaru flung the human back into the charred remains. He barely twitched and the daiyokai moved on.

He planned on simply tracking down Myoga – for what it was worth – when something clamped onto his boot. Sesshomaru tried shaking off the withered hand, but it held fast. Lifting the beam that pinned her, Sesshomaru looked down on the broken woman. He tried his question once more. "What went down here?"

She smiled, and his knee nearly buckled.

"Besides the mansion," she rasped, "there was this great demon, his countenance most like thine, and he fought Lord Takemaru of Setsuna; but not before the lord set the grounds ablaze." Her breath rattled. "Methinks the lord demon was trying to save his half-breed son...Lady Izaiyoi and the child escaped, but the demon and Takemaru…" The words died in her mouth.

Sesshomaru let the beam drop.

--

"Well, not even a kiss good-bye?" Sesshomaru's mother droned, leaning against the wall with her arms in her sleeves and not appearing the least approachable.

"I'm off to walk my own path." He finished the last tugs to his waist-tie.

"Mm-hm." She studied her nails disinterestedly. _Teenagers!_ "You know, your father left a fang for you. It's probably with that Boku-whatever tree."

Sesshomaru shouldered his fur. Father's body wasn't even cold yet and Mother was already talking about heirlooms. "I'll get to it."

"Huh, you should hope that halfling brat didn't get anything better," she glowered. It was anyone's guess what she thought of her mate's affair. "Technically, you _are_ Western Lord now."

Sesshomaru's stomach lurched at the title. "I'm off."

As he took to the air, the dog-demon heard a distant, "Don't forget to write." Well, he'd swing by in perhaps two hundred years. Perhaps.


	27. HalfBrother

Twenty years had viscously dripped by since the Dog General's demise, and Sesshomaru decided there was someone to whom he owed a visit.

"Where is he?" Leaving courtesy at the entrance, Sesshomaru marched directly into Lady Izaiyo's chamber.

"Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, it's been a while." She bowed, head to the floor. "To what honor do I owe this vi –"

"Spare me the pleasantries. Where is –"

"Mama?" A child with shocking silver hair and two distinctive puppy ears stood in the next threshold.

"InuYasha! Get back into your room!"

"But Mama, who's that?" He pointed at the looming stranger.

"He's, ah, Lord Sesshomaru," Izayoi shifted uncomfortably, "your elder brother." She glanced to Sesshomaru whose eyes were amber slits.

The daiyokai was thoroughly disgusted. It was harrowing enough that this brat shared Father's noble blood, but – Sesshomaru noted the dark-silver mane and heavy stock eyebrows – to bear such a resemblance was a disgrace to the dog-demon clan. There would be no concealing it.

Much to his mother's horror, InuYasha shuffled into the room. "_Ani-ue?_"

To Sesshomaru the respectful suffix wasted air. This abomination was the cause for Father's miserable death.

"What happened to Papa?"

_Papa_.

Fangs were ground. "He is dead because of you."

InuYasha blinked a large golden gaze in response. Sesshomaru stiffened.

_This child,_ the demon thought. _He hasn't aged as a human ought. Twenty years have passed and he wears the appearance – and banal intellect – of a toddler_. His eyes flicked to Izaiyoi. _He will outlive her. _

It dawned on Sesshomaru that killing the halfling would be more of a compassionate act than anything.

He caught Izaiyoi's still distressed expression.

_Or not. _

The daiyokai stared down at half-sibling. "Stay out of my way," Sesshomaru whirled around, "little brother."

Izaiyoi sighed. "Thank you. You are most generous, Lord Sesshomaru."

He paused at the steps. "He had better heed this warning. Next time, I won't hesitate."

" 'Bye, big brother!"

Sesshomaru leapt into the air before he did anything rash.

_I can exterminate that mongrel any time I see fit. It's not like he'll become some formidable archrival. _


	28. Ryukotsusei

Sesshomaru stared up at the dormant dragon and the colossal talon penetrating its heart.

_So that's Ryukotsusei. Father couldn't kill it. _

The idea of removing the seal flitted across Sesshomaru's mind. If he did he could destroy it and call himself Inu no Taisho's equal. Or superior.

_But it alone had been Father's battle_. Something else seeped through. _That's right – his alone. Where had I been?_

Fresh guilt stabbed Sesshomaru as he remembered his foolish stubbornness.

_I cannot alter what has transpired, Father's passing, but there is still a method fit for this beast's end. _

The image of a majestic steel fang flashed.

_Once I obtain it, Ryukotsusei shall be destroyed by my father's power. By the Tetsusaiga. _

With new resolve, Sesshomaru flew off to a distant forest. There was someone he needed to see about a sword.


	29. Tenseiga

Sesshomaru had every right to hunt down that senile blacksmith Totosai for giving him this blunt slab. Father's last wish, Bokuseno, the old magnolia, had said. Well, what happened to Tetsusaiga? Or Sounga? Of all fangs, why the pathetic Tenseiga?

The Western Lord held the blade up to the sunlight, inspecting it. A fine sight, maybe even a good paperweight, but that was it.

Bokuseno said it could "bind together the unraveling souls of the weak." Now what was the point in that? One didn't gain power by sparing lives, especially those of the weak.

_Perhaps there is another intrinsic property?_

Sesshomaru glanced up the road. A lone human traveler was heading his way.

_Time for a test. _

The young man could barely gasp just before a delicate-looking nobleman shoved a set of claws through his chest. The mortal shuddered, then lay still.

_Step one complete._

The Heaven Fang was drawn, and unceremoniously whacked over the deceased's body.

_Now what?_

Sesshomaru stared at the corpse, half-expecting it to sit up and be on its way. But nothing happened. Why should anything? The demon felt nothing for this human. No compassion, no sympathy, not a drop of pity – only emptiness. As far as Sesshomaru was concerned the insect's death was no loss. There were a million more where he came from.

But Tenseiga…it wasn't even performing as it was said to.

_Is the fault in me?_

Sesshomaru swung the blade over the cadaver again.

_Farther said he could wield it._

Another swing.

_Why can't I? I'm his son! I even used Tetsusaiga!_

Swing, swing, swing.

With each ineffective slash, Sesshomaru grew more frustrated until his talons dug into the hilt. Finally, he simply decapitated the body and stalked off the roadside to the nearby pasture.

_I can't use it. I can't use Father's sword_. He glared down at Tenseiga. _Or maybe it's just useless_.

Sesshomaru sheathed the blade and set it down in the grass.

_That's that. _

-

The evening breeze sighed, but Sesshomaru inwardly grumbled as he walked through an open field.

It's probably gone by now, he reasoned. His eyes scanned the premises catching a human form leaning over where he'd left the Tenseiga. The mortal eventually slumped to his knees as what felt like a set of daggers ripped out his internal organs.

"This isn't for the likes of you."

Tenseiga found itself back at the hip of its rightful owner.

_If Father could carry the same useless weight so can I._

Naturally, Sesshomaru never figured there would be an instance where he would ever actually use the worthless fang. After all, since when was a life-giving sword needed by someone named and trained to be Perfect Destruction?


	30. A Heart Without Care

_Sixteenth-century, Sengoku Jidai_

--

It was the hour of the serpent, with dawn stretching pale fingers, when Sesshomaru was trudging back to where he began his trek.

Sure enough, Rin and Jaken were fast asleep on Ah-Un's back. For the first time in nearly two centuries, Sesshomaru's steely eyes softened at the sight of a human.

A gentle pulse from a sword at his side was ignored. Sesshomaru grasped Ah-Un's reigns and guided the demon along – little girl in tow.

Lesser demons may have smirked that the child was a weakness, a sign of going soft – and that was why they were lesser demons. As Sesshomaru saw it, nobody else had cared about Rin; and if one who destroys doesn't care what others think, one has reached perfection.

Sesshomaru smiled quietly at Rin's sleeping face.

_Yes, perfection_.


	31. Author's Drabble

_This has nothing to do with the story. It's an afterward. Read at your leisure. _

Phew! So my first chapter fanfiction's finally finished! I really didn't expect it to drag out for thirty chapters, and I thank you all the same (if not more) for reading it.

I originally wrote the first draft for _Perfect Destruction_ in February of this year, but it was going to be extremely different, with fewer chapters, and go under the title "Just Like Mother" because the story was supposed to be a comparison between Sesshomaru and the affect his "colder" parent had on him. I handed the skeleton rough over to a friend…she said I made Sesshomaru's mother sound like the "wicked bitch of the west." So back to my keyboard I went.

At first, I didn't want to abandon my original ideas so I threw the printed draft into a desk drawer for several weeks and there it sat. It probably would still be there if Dad didn't holler for me to clean out "that black hole in the corner" back in May. As I grudgingly shuffled through markers, photos, manga, music sheets, and other forgotten dreams, I came across the rough. I won't say I immediately rekindled the dying embers – I just prodded them until they made sense or didn't.

Eventually, I kept the first three chapters (slightly skewing the ending of the first) and honed in on Sesshomaru's personal development. I eased up on Mother Dear, added characters I was surprised fit (Kai, Keiken, the kirin), and expanded on the roles of others (Akiko and Masun). Every so often I wondered if I was being too cruel to Sesshomaru (I really do like him), but somehow it clicked. The second chapter was meant to answer my own question about why Sesshomaru didn't come from a litter (like normal pups – yes, he's a demon, but still) and how he got that unique name. I know it wasn't uncommon to change your name later in life during that time period; however, I couldn't come up with anything fit for Sesshomaru.

Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story, your encouragement has been appreciated more than you'll ever know. I also give big-time huggles to Rosemary and Mindy for posting chapters when I called in and couldn't get net access myself. Of course, I tip my hatless head to Jessica (Catilena 1890 on FanFic) who first read and honestly critiqued the rough. Thank you, Mother (who prefers that I call her "Mom") for reading every chapter I posted (you instilled my love for reading and writing in the first place). And last, but sure as heck not least, thank you, Papa for making me clean my room and sharing all your life experiences. I'm more than certain they constructed the backbone of _Perfect Destruction_ because they've given me mine.


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